畫心

The main part of the painting A Full Circle of Harmony. 

A Full Circle of Harmony

A Full Circle of Harmony is a figure painting by Zhu Jianshen (1447-1487), at the age of 19, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty.

At first sight, the painting depicts a smiling Maitreya Buddha sitting cross-legged, but on closer inspection, it is a trio in one. On the left is an old man wearing a Taoist crown, and on the right is a Confucian scholar wrapping his hair with a handkerchief. Standing face to face, the duo hold a handscroll together. The Maitreya in the middle hugs the other two with his arms around their shoulders, his left hand holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads.

Zhu Jianshen inscribed "Ode to A Full Circle of Harmony by the Emperor" on the painting, quoting the story of "Three Laughs at Tiger Brook". Legend holds that Master Hui Yuan practiced Buddhism in seclusion by the Tiger Brook and would seldom cross the brook when seeing off guests.

One day, Tao Qian, a renowned Confucian scholar, and Lu Xiujing, a Taoist priest, visited Hui Yuan, and the three had a good time. Deeply engrossed in conversation, Hui Yuan didn't even realize he had passed the brook when seeing off his guests. The trio laughed upon realizing this.

Inspired by this story, Zhu Jianshen created this painting with a witty style, conveying the idea of integrating Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and expressing the hope that all strata of society would discard disputes and unite as one to build a prosperous country and create a peaceful life for the people.

This painting not only reflects the painter's superb skills, but also manifests long-standing Chinese values of respecting diversity and seeking harmonious coexistence.

《御制一團和氣圖贊》

"Ode to A Full Circle of Harmony by the Emperor" on the painting.

《一團和氣圖》

《一團和氣圖》是明憲宗朱見深19歲時所作的一幅人物畫。

畫中所繪看似一位盤腿而坐的笑彌勒，細看卻是三人合一。左為頭戴道冠的老者，右為頭戴方巾的儒生，二人各執經卷，面面相接，構成第三人。第三人手搭二人肩頭，為佛門中人，手捻佛珠。朱見深還在畫上題下《御制一團和氣圖贊》，引用“虎溪三笑”的故事。相傳惠遠法師在虎溪邊修佛，送客不過溪。一日，儒門之秀陶潛與道士陸修靜來訪，相談甚歡，相送時不覺過溪，三人大笑而別。朱見深以此為靈感，用詼諧的人物造型傳達了儒、釋、道“三教合一”的思想，也借此告誡朝野摒棄紛爭、團結一心，共創國泰民安。

這幅畫體現出作者純熟的繪畫技藝，更以絕妙的構思彰顯了中華文明自古以來尊重差異、和諧共處的價值理念。